The Duck Curve#pennsylvania
Shapiro moves to join consumer advocate's data center case against PPL
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro petitioned the Public Utility Commission on October 15, 2026 for party status in the Office of Consumer Advocate's complaint against PPL Electric Utilities, which seeks a separate data center rate class and rules making data centers pay for the transmission upgrades they cause and for PJM reliability programs. PPL counts about 31.8 GW of advanced-stage data center projects by 2034 against a current 7.8 GW peak.
PJM accepts two ENGIE batteries and a gas uprate on its fast track
PJM Interconnection said on October 8, 2026 that it accepted the first three projects in its Expedited Interconnection Track: ENGIE IR Holdings' Wayne 345 kV (860 MW) and Galion 345 kV (800 MW) battery storage projects in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and a 455 MW upgrade of an existing gas facility, Hunterstown 500 kV, in Pennsylvania. All three are slated for mid-2029; the track takes up to 10 requests a year in 2026 and 2027 and sunsets at the end of 2027.
Pennsylvania opens $11M NEVI round for chargers in 26 central counties
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced on September 8, 2026 that $11 million in federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure funding is available for public EV chargers in a 26-county central region, the third of four regional Community Charging rounds; applications are accepted until March 12, 2027. PennDOT says the rounds direct over $100 million in federal funding on top of $58 million already invested in corridor charging, and counts nearly 50 NEVI-funded stations built.